Kisses of the Sun
by soul vacation
Summary: Their relationship is a dangerous play of power that likely won't last but at least for now, they are satisfied. [TemaIno, oneshot, gift fic]


**Kisses of the Sun**

They think she signs up for these excruciatingly long missions in deplorable heat that fast changes to bone-chilling cold because she wants to spend more time with Shikamaru. They all fancy themselves very clever for having figured this out, so no one really brooks much of an argument when she snaps them all up the way some kids gobble chocolate (and boy, does she wish she could have some chocolate) and they let her go about her business.

Yes, some of it is business. There's usually a caravan that she needs to escort, and if putting up with Shikamaru's bitching for three days isn't business, then Ino doesn't know what is. He hates the long trips, hates peeing outside, hates being woken up with a stiff back and dew on his face... well, she hates it all too. But even she can realize that sometimes you have to put up with a lot of crap to get what you want.

He leaves her to the diplomacy, and he probably thinks it's cute when he suggests that it should come naturally since she has a big mouth and spends so much time slathering lip gloss all over it. Consequently, Ino goes to bed more often than not with a throbbing headache from listening to a bunch of paper-skinned traders complain about conditions and the shinobi they were given when they paid good money for escorts. They think that just because she is a complete babe she can't handle herself.

It is enough to make her want to rip her hair out and toss it on the ground... and maybe stomp on it a few times while screaming madly. But then again, there was someone in Suna who adored her hair, even if they'd never say so, and it was unspoken that Ino would keep it long and soft. She loved the feeling of fingers combing through her hair, anyway, so it was only logical that she would leave it... not that her lover was one prone to such sensitive things.

Sometimes it is all she can do to arrange things so that they woke up in the same bed! Honestly, she feels like she is waging a one-woman war against their... thing. Whatever it is.

They didn't make any promises, that was for sure. When they were apart all bets were off, and though Ino doesn't know about what happens in Suna, she enjoys Konoha's flavor of the month back home. Chouji couldn't understand why she went through boys like he did bags of chips, but he'd come to accept that it just was, and didn't bother her much about it. Inoichi was another story, but Daddy Dearest was gradually getting used to the fact that his little girl didn't intend to settle down with Shikamaru anytime soon, and he had washed his hands of the affair. Or so he said.

She knows that he has his ideas, and she feels bad about making them all crash and burn. Sometimes. But really, it is her life, and she can choose if she wants to get married and raise sixteen droopy-eyed brats or not, and she definitely chooses the _not_. Ino doesn't have anything against Shikamaru, and she figures he'd be perfectly happy with someone who was as smart as him and could put up with his obnoxious brain waves... maybe Sakura, even, if she could ever pull her head out of her tush long enough to realize that there were other boys in the world besides Sasuke worth her time.

Ino had given up on that dream a long time ago, and she'd really only been in it for the competition, anyway. She hadn't really **liked** Sasuke, if she was perfectly honest with herself. It had been more of a crush thing, though it had lost her a best friend... and probably her first _real_ crush.

Whatever, though. Kids were kids and that kind of thing was bound to happen, as far as she was concerned. It obviously hadn't made her a raging lesbian or anything, so she didn't care much. Just like she'd given up on Sasuke, she'd thrown Sakura out the window several years back. In fact, she'd just given up on names that started with "s" all together, especially when Shikamaru had been perversely and stupidly attracted to that sand wench.

Her lips always curl in distaste when she thinks of them together, and even if she isn't a big enough person to admit it, there is some definite jealousy there. Ino tends to grab things with both her hands and brand them _hers_, and when someone else stepps into that mix, it truly and supremely pisses her off.

But she'd given up on those pesky "s" names and life was a lot easier. Even if she still wants to punch Shikamaru smack in the middle of his big old forehead every time she thinks about him staring at that woman's ass, she's really given up. Maybe not with a lot of grace, but she's given up.

She was on to bigger and better letters of the alphabet, even if she couldn't quite remember the name of the guy she'd just dumped. It was some letter toward the beginning, probably, but he hadn't impressed her with the all-you-can-eat-BBQ (he_llo_, if she wanted to date Chouji, she would just ask) on the first date, so she'd dropped him like a bad habit. Then he'd cried, and she really couldn't stand it when a boy cried.

It was so lame. Almost as lame as these stupid missions taking people back and forth from Suna, but there were definite benefits when she got to the other end of things, and that wasn't just money. Though she definitely never said no to some extra yen in her pockets. Shopping was perhaps Ino's only true love, and money made it a whole lot easier.

She is a kunoichi, so she could probably steal anything she wanted if she gets really desperate, but there is something really satisfying about spending money. Almost better than sex, except lately she's been getting some really good sex, so she can't quite go that far. But it was an awesome feeling.

Thinking of sex, if she plays her cards right, she will get some of that. She is tired and sweaty and probably really ugly looking, but that won't matter, because it is her turn to be "it" in the game of tag. She has all the time in the world to get ready. Pride won't allow her partner to come for her, and so she can go this entire visit without so much as speaking two words voluntarily if she wants.

Why she would, is beyond her, but she could if she felt like it.

So when she walks through the gates of Suna and Shikamaru finally starts pulling his own weight, she drags her hair out of its ponytail, disgusted by its sweaty weight, but knowing despite it all, she looks sexy. More than one pair of eyes follows her as she weaves across the sand, perhaps putting a little more sway to her hips than necessary, especially when she sees a pair of turquoise eyes watching her from the doorway of a building.

Her lips, painted a deep purple, curve seductively and she makes a big show of leaning forward to blow a kiss, but the figure has turned and is already walking away, leaving her to salute the air and make people wonder just who she was giving attention to. No matter. Later, they would make up, as they always did. It was an understanding between them that she show off; they wouldn't have been able to keep doing this if Ino wasn't allowed her freedom.

It doesn't take her long to find the inn and get a room; she's almost a regular. The showers are refreshingly cool and it feels like she's washing away years of grime and muck and just because she can, she lingers under the water, making the wait even longer now that she's been seen in Suna. Maybe it's a game of power, but they both enjoy it on some level.

The reunion will be all the more sweet if she plays it out as long as she can.

Ino is tired, so she idly wonders if she should just take a nap and call it a day. She deserves it, after all. Her "sleep" while guiding those annoying merchants was really just power napping and then switching shifts, and she's tired to the bone. The shower makes her feel almost liquid in her joints and she knows that if she lays on that bed, no matter how inhospitable she would normally find it, she'll be gone until the next morning. She considers it as she steps out of the bathroom fully disrobed, wonders for a while, and then goes to get a change of clothing.

She's tired, but she doesn't want to risk rejection by waiting too long. Sometimes her partner gets cranky and slams doors, and that just makes Ino angry, and so an entire trip is wasted.

Ino knows exactly where to look, and sure enough, when she gets to the training grounds, there is only one figure haloed brilliantly against the sun. The light traces curves none too subtle, kissing a figure roughened by wind and heat and too many years of neglect.

And she knows Ino has arrived, because they have an intimacy that few share. When she rests her hand on top of the fan and slants a smoldering look down the sand, Ino feels the first tickles of heat in the base of her stomach, and she knows that no matter how many trips it takes to and fro, she won't be able to stop coming.

Once you've tasted the desert, after all, you can never give it up.

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Written for Steph, a dear friend. I hope you enjoy it, and happy holidays.


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